LAMP/Apache problem - Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified D/N

kaos_king · 06-11-2010, 01:58 PM

Hi all,

Firstly i want to say that the forum is great and answered many questions I have had in the past as im a linux n00b, but now ive got a question I couldnt find the answer for and I think its because im a n00b.

So, i installed LAMP following this guide - Clicky - and all went well.

After changing the permissions to "/var/www" I tested it and it seemed to be working fine according to the guide, however some of my pages just display blank. I can get some html files to display, but it seems to be php ones that arnt working.

I thought id restart apache to see if that was the problem and it fails to giving the result:

Code:

 * Restarting web server apache2                                                apache2: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using 127.0.1.1 for ServerName
 ... waiting apache2: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using 127.0.1.1 for ServerName

So, all the other solutions i found to this was to add ServerName to "/etc/apache2/httpd.conf" but my httpd.conf is empty (im sure that cant be right) but i added the ServerName anyway putting:

Code:

ServerName localhost

but that produces the same results.

If anyone would be able to give me any help on this it would be massively appreciated.

- I dont know why my httpd.conf is empty
- Im not sure if the apache not restarting and the displaying blank pages are related

Cheers guys....

dafydd2277 · 06-11-2010, 03:32 PM

httpd.conf being empty is the more worrisome thing. Fixing that should solve the FQDN problem.

My inclination would be to do a standalone installation of apache, and see if you get a good httpd.conf out of that.

dafydd

pingu · 06-11-2010, 03:41 PM

OK, so you are a bit confused here

1) That about the "Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name" is because you don't have a FQDN (fully qualified domain name). This is not a real problem unless you're running an internetserver & have a public domain.

2) The problem with some pages not displaying, you probably don't have php correctly installed.
I don't know what distro you're running so cant' give exact info but check your installer (be it yast, apt-get, synaptic or whatever) for php.
Edit: These packages I've found are often needed:
php-pear php5 php5-gd php5-mysql (the last one of course only if you use MySQL)

3) httpd.conf is normally empty today.
You'll find the config in apache2.conf instead - however, httpd.conf is read in so it's quite okay to put things there.

kaos_king · 06-11-2010, 04:06 PM

Thanks, i'll start with reinstalling php and apache, however as i installed "lamp-server^" i dont know what the individual package names are for them. I checked for installed files in synaptic with the filter to see all the packages I had for "php" and "apache". Which ones should I reinstall?

Here's screenshots of synaptic manager with each filter:

PHP List
Apache List

kaos_king · 06-11-2010, 04:13 PM

Just seen your edit pingu. I didnt have php-pear installed and so i added that, and also reinstalled php-gd & php-mysql.

Retried a page and its still blank? Any ideas?

pingu · 06-11-2010, 04:18 PM

OK so you have php installed.
You need to check if it's enabled, this should be in apache2.conf :

Code:

LoadModule php5_module        modules/libphp5.so
AddHandler php5-script php 

# Add index.php to your DirectoryIndex line:
DirectoryIndex index.html index.php

AddType text/html       php

Don't forget to restart apache if you edit the config-files (#sudo apache2ctl restart)

kaos_king · 06-11-2010, 04:51 PM

Ok, i added your block of code into my apache2.conf as it was not there.

I restarted apache at which it said:

Code:

[Fri Jun 11 22:49:18 2010] [warn] module php5_module is already loaded, skipping
apache2: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using 127.0.1.1 for ServerName

Retried a php page and its still blank?

pingu · 06-11-2010, 05:07 PM

Weird...

Code:

module php5_module is already loaded

So php is installed & enabled - and has been all the time.
Let's get back to the beginning:

Quote:

I can get some html files to display, but it seems to be php ones that arnt working.

We need to find out the exact cause of the problem, it might not be php-related at all.
"..some html files.." you say, and "...it seems to be php..."
Have you tested php?
If not, do that:

Create a PHP file. Name it test.php. The entire contents of the file are:

Code:

<?php
echo("<h1>Yay! PHP and Apache Work!</h1>");
?>

Copy this file to the document directory (/var/www)
Load this page in your browser by using the following URL: http://localhost/test.php

If that works (and I think it will), check permissions for the files you can't access.
Check the directories as well! remember permission "x" is needed on a directory to view files in it!

If that gives nothing... hmmm have to think now.
Unfortunately it's past midnight here in my part of the world, got to get some sleep.
Rest of the world is awake though so keep posting!
If noone else has a clue I'll be back tomorrow!

kaos_king · 06-12-2010, 04:31 AM

My html files work whether they be in the root of "/var/www" or in a subdirectory in there. It is PHP thats not working (blank page).

I am using mysqldumper as a test (Clicky, freeware 656Kb).

I changed the owner of www to my username and that still made no difference.

So as i write this, i went off to grab a screenshot of the permissions and i noticed a button "Apply Permissions to Enclosed Files" at the bottom, pressed that and it all works now!

But my question now is, if i changed the owner using "sudo chown -R kaos www" shouldnt the "-R" have applied it to all subfolders and files inside of www?

* Edit * - Also, thanks for your help pingu

pingu · 06-12-2010, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaos_king

I changed the owner of www to my username and that still made no difference.

But my question now is, if i changed the owner using "sudo chown -R kaos www" shouldnt the "-R" have applied it to all subfolders and files inside of www?

Yes it should, strange.
One thing with Ubuntu & other "userfriendly" distros is that they sometimes don't allow you to do things outside the supplied gui tools. Maybe that's why it didn't work - but that's just a guess!

But you should not set your user as owner, standard webpages are better owned by apaches user.

kaos_king · 06-12-2010, 07:15 AM

Yeah its ubuntu im on. Anyway at least its working now, i'll change the owner to the apache user also.

Cheers for your help.